Russia+-+Schafer,+Kaufman+B2

Russia Mariah Schafer & Sidney Kaufman World Geography Block 2

The LAND

Ural Maountains: The Ural mountains mark the traditional boundary between European Russia and Asian Russia. They are very worn down, and very old. They have and average height of about 2,000 feet. The mountains are rich in iron ore, oil, and natural gas. These mountains also have quite a lot of wildlife. They're home to wolverines, foxes, many types of birds, and much more.



Bering Sea The Bering Sea is a very large body of water; about 878,000 square miles. It is just south of the Arctic circle, and the Bering Strait is what connects it to the Arctic ocean. The sea is almost always covered by ice, so ships can only navigate it during the months July - October. The Bering Sea is also one of the best places to crab fish, but it's very dangerous, as some of the waves can get to 40 feet high!



Russian Plain: The West Russian Plain, or better known as Zapadno-sibirskaya Ravnina in Russia, covers over one million square miles of land between the Ural Mountains and the Yenisey River. Somewhere in the lowlands, there is an extensive oil field that also has large amounts of natural gas deposits.

Climate & vegetation

Russia has a very cold climate, and one of the climate regions is called subarctic. The subarctic climate is Russia's largest climate region. Some of the coldest temperatures occur here. This climate region lies just south of the tundra. It also supports the taiga, a boreal forest belt that covers 2/5 of western Russia, and extends into Siberia (roughly the size of the United States). The taiga is the world's largest coniferous forest.



Another climate region of Russia is the tundra. Up in the north, it dominates the most of the northern part of this country. Most of the tundra lies north of the Arctic Circle, hugging the Arctic Ocean. The average temperature is below freezing, and the sky stays dark during December. It has a very short growing season, and that limits the kinds of plants that can survive in the tundra. Only mosses, lichens, algae, and dwarf shrubs can live there.



This North Dakotan - looking plain is part of the steppe climate zone in Russia. This grassland area has dry summers, and long, cold, dry winters with swirly winds and lots of blowing snow. The steppe's chernozem soil is rich in organic stuff that allows plants to live. Sunflowers, mint, and beans are found here. But recently, foriegn plants and overgrazing animals have greatly damaged the steppe's ecosystem. With the new plants dominating native grasses, the soil's fertility is declining.

Culture and population

As you see above, 75% of all Russians live in western Russia. This is because of the rich soil, wterways, and less extreme climates than in the eastern part of Russia. The most populous cities are the most industrialized. The major industrial city is Moscow, Russia's capital. Since the 90s, population growth in the industrialized areas has leveled off. Only 25% of Russia's population lives in Siberia, an area that covers 2/3 of Russia.

This is the Russian Orthodox Cross. About 49.7% of Russia's population identifies as part of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church had been central to Russian culture for thousands of years before the Communist revolution in 1917. Most of the churches that were destroyed during the Soviet era have now been rebuilt. Other Christian groups, like Catholic and Protestant, have been introduced as well. 27.4% of Russia is nonreligious, and about 25% are Muslim, Protestant, Jewish, Roman Catholic, Islam, Hindu, and Buddist.



The arts in Russia are quite oftenly inspired by religion. For example, churches are crowned with onion-shaped domes that symbolised heaven, or possibly burning candles in the RO tradition.

History and government Early history This is the Moskva River. Many Slavs feld the Mongol invasions, and later settled along this river. One of the settlements grew into the city of Moscow, the center of a territory called Muscovy. This river is also used for recreation. Since 2009, people have been able to walk across the frozen river. It actually takes about 2 hours over all!

Revolution and change

This is Czar Alexander II. He was the emperor of Russia from 1855-1881.  He reformed many things about Russia. This was because of Russia's backwardness, exposed by the Crimean War of the 1850s. Alexander attempted to reform agriculture to pay for the industrial investment and to directly invest in industrializing the country, but the serfs couldn't afford the 50 year repayment. The most important thing about Alexander II, is that there was a period of repression after 1866 that led to a revival of terrorism and his own assassination.

Economy

Changing economies  Russia has made the switch from central planning to a market-based economy. Opening domestic markets to foreign trade and investment (basically connecting Russia to the rest of the world), was a big factor in this process. Today, Russia's economy is the eighth largest economy in the world. Natural resources Russia is abundant in fossil fuels, like coal, iron ore, and natural gases. Russia has the world's largest oil reserves, and the second largest coal reserves. Russia accounts for 20% or world's oil, 16% of coal, and 40% of the world's natural gas. Transportation and communications The main type of transport in Russia is rail. Russia has the second largest rail network, just behind the US, with an overall track length of around 54,157 miles long. The largest metro, Moscow Metro, has a total of 182 stations and 12 lines.

Russian Mafia (global issues) The Russian Mafia, or sometimes called Bratva (brotherhood), is a name used for criminals that originate from the former Soviet Union. There are as many as 6,000 different groups, with more than 200 of them away from Russia (America, Canada, Spain, etc.). Criminals of these various groups are either former prison members, corrupt Communist officials and business leaders, or people from the same region with shared criminal experiences and leaders. Louis Freeh, former director of the FBI, had once said they posed the greatest threat to US national security in the mid-1990s. The mafia's crimes include arms, drug, and human trafficking, prostitution, and murder.   The star-type looking thing is called an Otritsala, and it seems to pop up anywhere you mention the Russian mafia. Most members will get two of these tattoos; one on each shoulder.

(Comment removed - April 30th, 20113)